So You Think You Can Dance - Bollywood

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

10 Jul 2008 09:14 AM

Last night's 'So You Think You Can Dance' featured a closing number that had me back in my office and looking up the dance style called 'bollywood.' If you didn't see the performance (shame on you - just kidding), but you can see it here on You Tube.

Evolution of Bollywood

If you haven't heard of 'Bollywood' before it's a coined term that refers to the Indian film industry. The industry is booming and produces more than 900 films per year. Bollywood dance comes from the song and dance sequences in many of the Bollywood films. Think back to the great musical features of the 40s and 50s, now flash forward to the 21st century in Bombay, India and you have a dance style that evolves that mixes the elements of traditional dance with film magic.

Bollywood dance mingles jazz, modern, oriental, hip and even Russian step dancing with classical Indian style to really light up the performances. While on the surface, these dances look utterly simple, they require stern muscle control and flair to make them look so effortless. As demonstrated by dance pair Katie and Joshua last night, the wonderfully athletic dance is a real crowd pleaser.

Mia Michaels, a contemporary choreographer and sometime judge for the show, remarked that she was delighted to see world dances lighting up the stage. Their movements were so precise and effortless, yet performed with control. The success of marrying so many dance forms into one style will hopefully continue the trend not only on the show, but also for dance options here in the United States.

If you're interested in dressing up your own home workout routines, I found a couple of great Bollywood dance style workout DVDs that I'm going to be ordering from Netflix to check out. Let me know what you think.

• The Bollywood Dance Workout With Hemalayaa (2007)
• Bollywood Burn

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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